Review: ‘Wonder’ Is The Feel-Good Film We Can All Feel Good About

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November 14, 2017

There’s nothing wrong with a movie that is unabashedly meant to make you feel good. There’s nothing wrong with a movie whose sole mandate is to encourage everyone to just be kind to one another. Of course, how said movie goes about it is where the wheels so often come off. If you’ve seen the trailers for Wonder then you already know it’s a movie that demands you bring a box of Kleenex; in fact I think they were giving them away at the screening I attended. It’s going to make you cry, that much is a given. And while there are moments of sadness and perhaps a little bit of regret at our own treatment of those who are different, it will be tears of joy rolling down your cheeks.

Based on the bestselling novel by R.J. Palacio, Wonder boasts direction from The Perks of Being a Wallflower‘s Stephen Chbosky. I don’t know if there’s another filmmaker out there who so fluently speaks the language of school-aged kids, whether they be teens or slightly younger. The film centers on Auggie Pullman, played by adorable Room breakout Jacob Tremblay. Auggie is just your average 10-year-old kid; he likes video games, science, playing with his dog. Oh yeah, but he was also born with a congenital disorder that caused severe facial disfigurement, so bad that he’s endured 27 surgeries just to be able to breathe. As a result, Auggie likes to keep his face hidden under an oversized astronaut helmet, and he’s been homeschooled by his mother Isabel (Julia Roberts) since he was old enough. Now it’s time for that to change and for Auggie to get out there into the big bad world, and the even more terrifying world of public school.

Auggie may be the centerpiece of this story, or as his older sister Via (Izabela Vidovic) puts it, “Auggie is the sun”, but it isn’t just about him. What’s beautiful about Wonder is how deeply it fleshes out the important people in Auggie’s life. We get to not only see him through their eyes, but them through his. One of the most vital is Jack (Suburbicon‘s Noah Jupe), a scholarship kid who may be made of better stuff than most of the other students, in particular Julian, a bully who makes Auggie’s life miserable. We also see what it’s like living in Auggie’s shadow, as Via has been forced to do her entire life. While most of the kids in school stop, stare, or avoid Auggie outright, it’s important to consider that they too have problems to contend with.

Compassion and empathy are Wonder‘s heart and soul, and it’s a message that isn’t forced upon us in a heavy-handed manner, but with subtlety and grace. For the most part, anyway. While these lessons reverberate throughout, the schmaltzy score and a couple of manipulative storylines threaten to be a wet blanket on the whole thing. Let’s just say this is a movie that has enough tear-jerking moments that it doesn’t need to include the family pet in any of it. And one story, which involves Via’s best friend pretending to have her life, is undercooked and unnecessary to say the least. There also could have been more time spent with Owen Wilson as Auggie’s “cool Dad” Nate. He pops in and out, acts relatively immature in the way we expect from Wilson, but we learn precious little about him compared to Isabel, who gave up her career to take care of Auggie. What has been Nate’s sacrifice? It’s not to say Wilson isn’t good in the role, heck, he and Roberts are basically the parents any kid could ever want, but his connection to Auggie doesn’t seem as tight as the other characters.

Wonder is one of the best family films of the year, and as we enter the season of charity and giving it’s arriving at just the right time.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

You’ll Be Waiting A Bit Longer For A ‘Justice League’ Rotten Tomatoes Score

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John Nolan

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November 14, 2017

“Rotten Tomatoes Causes Controversy By Announcing Score Reveal For JUSTICE LEAGUE This Thursday”

That’s the headline over at Comicbookmovie.com, where I guess the fanboys are up in arms over Rotten Tomatoes’ decision to delay their score for Justice League an entire day. And I get it; the website has been a prime target for scorn as its scores have been given greater importance and influence. For comic book fans this has been especially true; a hit film like Suicide Squad was publicly ripped for its 26% Tomatometer score from critics, when in fact audiences liked it enough to give it a 61%. There’s a wide disparity between what the fans approve of and what critics do sometimes.

But is Justice League‘s score delay really a big deal? Not really. Despite the embargo being lifted later today, Rotten Tomatoes is holding the score reveal until 12:01AM Thursday not as part of a vast Warner Bros. conspiracy, Alex Jones, but so it can debut on their awful “See It/Skip It” TV show that runs on Facebook.

I can see where the paranoia comes in, though. Warner Bros. owns a minority stake in Rotten Tomatoes, right? But nah, the site actually did this before with A Bad Moms Christmas, and will probably keep doing so with major releases. To be fair, I thought it was a conspiracy at first, too, until I remembered they needed to hype that shitty show with the shitty hosts. While I understand the need to do that, Rotten Tomatoes runs the risk of alienating those who really do rely on the site. Make them wait and they’ll just go someplace else to find out what critics think. It’s not like there are a shortage of options out there.

‘John Wick’ Writer Is Bringing A ‘Hitman’ TV Series To Hulu

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John Nolan

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November 14, 2017

Agent 47 has found his new mark. There have been two movies based on the popular Hitman video games, Hitman and Hitman: Agent 47, and neither really set the world on fire. So when that avenue fails, what’s the best way to keep the property alive? Make more games? Well…sure, yeah. That. But also to bring the world’s deadliest assassin to the small screen.

A Hitman TV series is in the works for Hulu, and it’s being penned by John Wick writer Derek Kolstad. The games and subsequently the movies are all pretty simple, following a genetically-engineered assassin known as Agent 47. He’s known for his trademark bald head, bar code tattoo on the back of his neck, and an icy efficiency in completing his missions.

Presumably the TV series won’t stray from the formula too tough, and it’s easy to see how this could be the most successful adaptation of Hitman yet. The premise lends itself to the serial format, and if something like Transporter or Nikita can stick around on air for multiple seasons, there’s no reason why this can’t. Hulu has hopes of it becoming a flagship show for them, and who knows? Maybe it will. [Deadline]

Review: ‘Thumper’ Starring Eliza Taylor, Pablo Schreiber, Daniel Webber, and Lena Headey

By

John Nolan

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November 14, 2017

Thanks to the success of The Wire and Breaking Bad, now’s a great time to take a look at drugs, drug dealers, the police who investigate and prosecute them, and see just how they are all intertwined and affected by each other. Thumper does a great job of navigating the fine line for all characters who live in this miserable world controlled by drugs and addiction.

Director Jordon Ross (True Life) sits in the directors’ chair for the first time (while writing as well) introducing us to this world where drugs are deeply infesting this small Southern California town. From the first scene, we are introduced to Wyatt (Pablo Schreiber). He seems like a normal family man who may be down on his luck. He takes care of his children, makes sure they don’t watch too much TV to “rot their brains,” and has a great relationship with his children’s’ mother. Not even one scene later, you see he is a cutthroat drug dealer, untrusting of new faces, and quick to exert his dominance when he feels necessary. This is a prime example to show that there are plenty of gray lines for the characters in this movie.

New to town is Kat Carter (Eliza Taylor), who lets the local boy Beaver (Daniel Webber) cheat on her for an exam he clearly studied for. To show his thanks (and because he really is attracted to her), he wants to ask her out at the nearby hangout spot where the local teen drink and do drugs. However, Kat is holding on to her own dark secret. Whenever she is offered a hit of anything, she has an excuse. Is she skittish? Is she “not cool?”

Turns out Kat is an undercover police officer, whose goal is to try and get in close with the local high school drug dealers, in order to bust their supplier. While a film like 21 Jump Street took a comical approach to cops infiltrating high schools to bust drug dealers, Thumper takes a much darker turn. Kat has already ruined her marriage because of her dedication to her job. Her son doesn’t even recognize her and calls his father’s fiancé “Mom.” Kat also is starting to develop sympathy for Beaver, who is a small-time dealer she knows she has to bust, who has a terrible home life complete with a mentally challenged brother he has to take care of and an abusive father to neglects and beats both of them. On top of that, Kat’s boss Ellen (Lena Headey) just wants busts, not caring for those caught in the crosshairs. Kat is good at her job, but it’s at the cost of her conscience and her soul.

Everyone in the film brings their A game acting-wise. Taylor, who most people know from the CW series The 100 goes through plenty of emotions. She deals with getting too close to those she’s investigating as well as the turmoil of what’s going on with her home life and the fact that she’s slowly losing her son, and a piece of herself.

The true standout is Pablo Schreiber as drug kingpin Wyatt Rivers. He plays menacing perfectly. There is a scene where he cannot get his medication thanks to his insurance company, and you realize that he’s a victim of our economy and health care problems like anyone else. He becoming a drug dealer is not a choice, but a necessity. He is also angry that as a veteran, he’s not getting the necessary care he feels is owed to himself. He also shows extreme ruthlessness in one of his suspicious confrontations with Kat, which has extreme results for the remainder of the film.

Webber also has the most to work with as Beaver. He has his troubled life to deal with, and he’s only being a drug dealer for taking care of his brother who he wants to save enough money to put him in a school that will address his needs the best, as his current living situation won’t help them much. Beaver first starts off as some druggie loser but throughout the film gets fleshed out into a living, breathing character that Kat (and audiences) end up caring for.

Like the real world, Thumper doesn’t have a happy ending. There are some winners, some losers, as everyone has to make the best of their situations and how they play off. The film tries to come off as your normal crime thriller, but it does a pretty good job being a case study for the drug war showing how no one gets out clean.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Giveaway: Enter To Win ‘Atomic Blonde’ On Blu-ray!

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John Nolan

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November 14, 2017

Charlize Theron was the year’s most kickass spy in the hit action flick, Atomic Blonde, and now we’ve joined with Universal so you can own it for yourself! We’re happy to offer our readers the chance to win a copy of Atomic Blonde on Bluray/DVD/Digital HD as it hits home release!

SYNOPSIS: Oscar®-winner Charlize Theron stars as elite MI6’s most lethal assassin and the crown jewel of her Majesty’s secret intelligence service, Lorraine Broughton, in ATOMIC BLONDE. When she’s sent on a covert mission into Cold War Berlin, she must use all of the spycraft, sensuality and savagery she has to stay alive in the ticking time bomb of a city simmering with revolution and double-crossing hives of traitors.

Broughton must navigate her way through a deadly game of spies to recover a priceless dossier while fighting ferocious killers along the way in this breakneck action-thriller from director David Leitch (Deadpool 2, John Wick). Theron is joined by James McAvoy (Split, X-Men: First Class), Sofia Boutella (The Mummy, Star Trek Beyond) and John Goodman (Transformers: The Last Knight, Patriots Day)

To enter, simply complete the required steps in the Rafflecopter contest form below. Winners will be selected on Friday, November 17th and contacted by email. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

‘Django’ Trailer: Reda Kateb Is Jazz “Guitar Hero” Django Reinhardt

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John Nolan

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November 14, 2017

Don’t let the title fool you. Django is neither about Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained or the Westerns of Franco Nero. It’s about renowned jazz musician Django Reinhardt, who in Nazi-occupied France became an enemy of the state for two reasons: he was both a jazz musician and a Gypsy.

Etienne Comar’s film stars Reda Kateb (Zero Dark Thirty) as Reinhardt, who finds the Nazis have banished jazz music from his beloved city of Paris. As other German Gypsies were being herded into settlement camps and sterilized, Reinhardt makes a daring attempt at survival, finding strength in the music that he cherished above all else.

It’s a incredible story and buzz since the film debuted in Berlin has been strong, particularly for Kateb’s performance. No offense to La La Land, but if you really want to open people up to the history of jazz, this is the kind of movie they should be checking out.

Also starring Cecile de France and Bea Palya, Django opens in New York on January 5th with a wider rollout to follow.

Sam Mendes Exits Disney’s ‘Pinocchio’; Is ‘Bond 25’ Next?

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John Nolan

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November 14, 2017

Sam Mendes just can’t figure out what he’s going to direct next, after taking himself out of the running to helm his third James Bond film in a row. Originally he was attached to a live-action version of James and the Giant Peach, but dropped out of it to take on Disney’s Pinocchio. Now The Tracking Board says Mendes has exited that film, as well, but is there more to the story?

Mendes’ departure leaves Disney in search of another director for the film, which has a script by Rogue One‘s Chris Weitz. Considering Disney’s track record with their live-action adaptations it should be no big thing for them to find somebody new of equal stature. Kenneth Branagh, Bill Condon, and Jon Favreau have been behind the camera for some of them recently, and Favreau is coming back to bring The Lion King to the big screen.

As for Mendes, this leaves him with an opening to do something else…like, maybe, directing the next Bond film, which is still without a director? They don’t seem to be moving very fast in looking for one, and Mendes would be an easy solution to the problem. He’s made one of the best Bond movies ever with Skyfall, and one of the most disappointing with Spectre. If this is truly Daniel Craig’s last go as 007 it should be Mendes who goes out along with him, and hopefully go out on a high note.

‘Wonder Woman’ Sequel Moved Up Six Weeks, Gal Gadot Set To Return

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John Nolan

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November 13, 2017

Any hope of a Wonder Woman vs. Jedi showdown is going to have to wait for another year. Warner Bros. has done the smart thing and moved Wonder Woman 2 up from its December 13th 2019 date a whole six weeks to November 1st. That will take it nice and far away from Star Wars: Episode IX which would have opened on the same day.

Also, Deadline‘s report confirms that Gal Gadot and director Patty Jenkins are locked to return, despite rumors stating that Gadot wouldn’t agree if Brett Ratner’s RatPac-Dune Entertainment label was involved as they were in the first movie. But Warner Bros. has already cut ties from Ratner, and the last film with them that he’ll have anything to do with is Rampage starring Dwayne Johnson.

This is, obviously, a brilliant move and shouldn’t be seen as Warner Bros. lacking faith in the sequel. Wonder Woman is one of the brightest lights they’ve had this year, and should give them hope for the future of the DCEU, along with Justice League. But nothing stands up to Star Wars and wins, so why not give Diana of Themyscira enough room to lasso an even bigger audience this time.

Amazon’s ‘Lord Of The Rings’ TV Series Gets Multi-season Deal, New Details Revealed

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John Nolan

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November 13, 2017

To get a sense of how committed Jeff Bezos and Amazon Studios are to the Lord of the Rings TV series first reported on a few days ago, just look at how swiftly they are issuing press releases. Because today sees them drop a few concrete details about the series, its scope, and which era in J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy will be explored.

First of all, Amazon paid the Tolkien estate what Deadline says is roughly $200M+ just for the adaptation rights, and for that price they are giving it a multi-season commitment, with estimates that each season could cost between $100M-$150M. As for when it will take place, it will be some time before The Fellowship of the Ring. Here’s the official statement:

Set in Middle Earth, the television adaptation will explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. The deal includes a potential additional spin-off series.

I’m not fluent enough in Tolkien to know exactly what that could mean, but I can guess at the potential of it. Doubtful this means we’ll be seeing more Bilbo Baggins stories since Peter Jackson ran through enough of those with The Hobbit trilogy, and audiences probably would rather forget those happened. Surely the Tolkien estate would, since they were never huge fans of Jackson’s adaptations, anyway. They never had any trouble cashing those Hobbiton checks, but they seem to be taking a more active role in this TV series and it’ll be interesting to see how that manifests creatively.

Morbius The Living Vampire To Be Next Spider-Man Spinoff Film

By

John Nolan

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November 13, 2017

Kinda considered a joke at first, Sony’s non-Spidey Spiderverse is actually looking pretty good. Venom will be the first film out of the gate and it has Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Jenny Slate, and Riz Ahmed on board, followed by a Silver Sable/Black Cat crossover flick with Gina Prince-Bythewood directing. And now another prominent Spidey character is getting his own movie; Morbius, the Living Vampire.

Penned and already submitted to Sony by Burk Sharples and Matt Sazama, co-writers of Power Rangers and the more apt Dracula Untold, the film will center on Morbius, a man with vampire abilities gained through a scientific experiment. He debuted in 1971 as a villain in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man, but would eventually grow in popularity and become a tragic antihero.

With the script already completed the search is on now for a director. Morbius could, and probably should, be conceived as a straight-up horror movie since that is how the character has best been portrayed. His ties to Venom are tenuous, though, so we may see this be a completely standalone effort, or a franchise that’s a little off the beaten path. [THR]